I just sent my Milky Way Sampler quilt off to the long armer for some deluxe treatment, then realized I hadn’t posted about it yet! So here’s a little rundown, to be followed up with the finished product once the quilt is back and bound.

paper pieced star quilt pattern

The Milky Way Sampler Quilt blocks

This foundation paper piecing pattern by Alyce of Blossom Heart quilts was so fun to make. Each block in this sampler is named for a star in the milky way.

paper pieced star quilt block

One of the things I love about Alyce’s design is that it takes advantage of what paper piecing does best: crisp lines and sharp points. What better way to highlight this than with prismatic stars?

star quilt block

Quilt color palette

For my stars I was trying for a mid-century colour scheme … I’m not sure if I really achieved that but I am really happy with the mix of bright-but-slightly-muddy ‘almost solids’ I used, mostly prints by Libs Elliott, Cotton and Steel, and Carolyn Friedlander. The little samples below are all from the Cotton and Steel Add it Up series, in a super soft unbleached cotton.

Quilt color palette

Quilt layout

Originally this project ran as a block-of-the-month, with twelve blocks, but the bundled pattern includes the deluxe center star, which gives you the perfect place to pull all of your sampler colours together in one block. (Without the center star you can use an alternate layout in which the blocks are in rows and not set on point.)

Milky Way Sampler Quilt by Blossom Heart Quilts

Backing

Midway through my blocks I found the perfect backing, this dreamy constellation-y print from Lizzy House’s Print Making collection.

Lizzy House mid-century fabric

Finishing

Next step for my Milky Way Sampler as I mentioned is long arm quilting and binding.For the binding, I’m thinking something scrappy but I’m not sure. (Suggestions welcome!)

Resources

Milky Way Pattern by Blossom Heart Quilts

Lizzy House Printmaking fabric, from The Workroom

Classes I took to learn paper piecing:

Polk Block: Paper Piecing with Scraps

Paper-pieced Quilts

This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend products and classes that I have purchased and used myself.

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